Fallen Florida Highway Patrol trooper remembered

VIDEO: Governor Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi were among the thousands who gathered in honor of FHP Trooper Chelsea Richard.

OCALA, Fla. -

Five days after a Florida Highway Trooper was killed in the line of duty, thousands of law enforcement officers from around the country gathered to honor her memory and legacy.

Trooper Chelsea Richard, 30, was working a two-car crash on Interstate 75 on Saturday night when she was hit by a pickup truck and killed. Two others died in the crash.

Gov. Rick Scott and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi attended Richard's funeral service Thursday afternoon. Police agencies from far and wide were represented at the First Baptist Church of Ocala to celebrate Richard's life.

"This is a very sad day for our agency and for Chelsea's family," FHP Sgt. Tracy Pace said. "We are heartbroken, but we will continue our mission in her honor."

Inside the church, Richard's colleagues and superiors spoke to whom she was as a person and shared their stories. They described her as a dedicated student at the academy who always strove to be better. But most of all, they spoke to how she'd grown as an officer.

For Trooper Hazen Ogden, that realization came when he needed her help in arresting a drug dealer.

"The same young lady who I had witnessed a short time earlier nervously arresting a feeble old woman on oxygen was now standing in front of a violent criminal," Ogden said. "Her hands were steady and her feet were planted in an aggressive stance."

At the request of her family, "Ave Maria" was played. With that special song and the memories of her life shared, her loved ones and fellow officers are certain of one thing: Their friend and hero is never really far away.

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